Conklin Lake

The wet winter and spring eroded more of the obstacle at Waypoint 7. Plenty of traction, but quite a bit rockier and rutted than the previous year. Tall green grass, gorgeous wildflowers, and lake views- we love this trail.

We ran this in our 2011 Jeep Wrangler JK Sport with 4” lift, 35’s, and 5.13 gears. We tried accessing the epic camping spot with the elevated lake view but the road was extremely worn out due to excessive water runoff from snow melting and rain. I believe we could have made it but since we were alone with no cell service we opted to play it safe. We did try to go around to the other side of the trail and run it backwards but also could not get there due to extremely deep snow and mud. The views on this trail are absolutely gorgeous though and what parts we could access we were awestruck with the beauty.

The Goose Fire area closure order was rescinded on October 7th, allowing the reopening of the following trails: Cliff Lake Bench Conklin Lake East Bench Elk Lake Jackknife Jackpine Gulch South Bench The condition of the affected trails is unknown and will be updated soon.

Due to the Goose Fire, the following trails have been temporarily closed: Conklin Lake Elk Lake Road beyond Elk Lake to Hidden Lake is closed Jackpine Gulch Jackknife Cliff Lake Bench South Bench East Bench EDIT: Updated closure map July 16, 2021 Currently, the West Fork Madison River is the edge of the closure area. More info on the closure can be found here: Goose Fire Closure Order

We've been around this area since the late '90s, and this was the first time on this trail. I had always assumed the road through the cattle pens was private property until seeing it on the map. We decided to see where it went and were surprised how beautiful the trail was. The views are great, the campsite over Hidden Lake is the coolest one I know of in the area.